A History of the Orthodox Church: Outline

1. THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH

The Church as a Eucharistic Community | The First Persecutions and Martyrs
The Councils as the Manifestation of the Church Unity

2. THE CHURCH OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS (323-843)

The Establishment of the Imperial Church | Fighting against the heresies
1. Nicaea - The Defeat of Arianism
2. Constantinople - The Teaching upon the Holy Spirit
3. Ephesus - The Victory over Nestorianism
4. Chalcedon - The Triumph of the Orthodox Christology
5 & 6. Constantinople - Chalcedon Confirmed - The Victory over Monotheletism
The Dispute over the Holy Icons
7. Nicea - The Victory of the Iconophiles and the Final Triumph of Orthodoxy

3. THE CHURCH OF IMPERIAL BYZANTIUM

Byzantine Christianity about AD 1000 | Relations between Church and state
The Development of Monasticism
Relations with the West | The Crusades | The Mongol invasion
Attempts at ecclesiastical union
Relations with the Western Church | Theological and monastic renaissance

4. ORTHODOXY UNDER THE OTTOMANS (1453-1821)

The Christian ghetto | Relations with the West

5. THE CHURCH OF RUSSIA (1448-1800)

Origin of the Muscovite patriarchate | Relations between patriarch and tsar
The reforms of Peter the Great (reigned 1682-1725)

6. THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES IN THE 19TH CENTURY

Autocephalies in the Balkans | In Greece | In Serbia | In Romania | In Bulgaria
The church in imperial Russia

7. THE ORTHODOX CHURCH SINCE WORLD WAR I

The Russian Revolution and the Soviet period
The Balkans and eastern Europe
The Orthodox Church in the Middle East | Orthodoxy in the United States
The Orthodox diaspora and missions

Webmaster Note: This page was retrieved from www.archive.org after decani.yunet.com went defunct following the Kosovo conflict. This page was originally created by monks at Decani Monastery in Kosovo. It has been slightly edited for inclusion on this site. Abridged, from Callistos Ware, The Orthodox Church, p. 12-16.